In a post on X, Crystal Dynamics made the announcement that they have made the "difficult decision" to reduce the workforce by 17 team members. The studio is most well-known for the Tomb Raider, Legacy of Kain, and Gex series. Most recently, they have released the Tomb Raider remasters as well as Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered, with Perfect Dark and an untitled Tomb Raider game to be announced in the future.
The full statement reads as follows below:
This morning, Crystal Dynamics made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce by 17 talented team members. We did not make this decision lightly. Ultimately, this step was necessary to better align our current business needs and the studio's future success. It is not a reflection of the dedication or ability of those affected.
We recognize how painful this outcome is for those impacted and we are supporting them with transition packages and opportunity outreach.
Crystal Dynamics remains committed to pushing the boundaries of making great games. This change does not alter our current project plans.
As said above, Crystal Dynamics is most recently known to be working on an untitled Tomb Raider game as well as a reboot of the Perfect Dark series, with Amazon Games and Xbox Game Studios publishing the titles, respectively.
Perfect Dark was first announced at The Game Awards in 2020 and is set to be released on PC and Xbox Series X|S. It was originally being developed utilizing Unreal Engine 4, but instead, the developers are now using Unreal Engine 5 to increase efficiency. As The Initiative is also helping to develop the title, it was reported in October 2024 that Brian Horton had left the Insomniac Games studio to instead work as a Creative Director on Perfect Dark.
The last round of layoffs for Crystal Dynamics took place in 2023 when nine employees were laid off across the marketing division specifically. This took place at a time where its parent company, Embracer Group, was making devastating layoffs across its many subsidiaries.
Any layoff, no matter the number, is devastating to hear about, but compared to some of the others that have already taken place this year, Crystal Dynamics has only seen 27 layoffs in a total of three years, while some companies have experienced closures, multiple layoffs in a year, and worse.
Already this year, there have been an estimated 1,493 employees laid off across a number of studios, ranging from well-off triple-A studios to indie studios finding their footing.
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